HARTFORD— On Thursday, April 16, the Council delivered to Governor Lamont its forty-eighth Annual Report, Environmental Quality in Connecticut. Because April 22 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, the report emphasized the progress made during the past half century of government action to protect and improve the environment.

To mark that anniversary, the report, which usually displays recent trends that are of interest to policy makers, was expanded to show the longterm trends for many of its measures of the State’s environmental health. The report illustrates Connecticut’s progress and its remaining challenges. Dramatic improvements are evident in air quality (a tenfold reduction in the number of days with bad air), water quality (a 30% reduction in nitrogen discharges to Long Island Sound), and recovery of formerly endangered raptors (2.5 fold increase in bald eagles). Some species, such as bats and turtles, did not fare as well during the period for which data were available. The report identifies areas where Connecticut will not meet its stated goals without a significant increase in effort and resources. Among the formidable environmental challenges identified are open space acquisition, farmland preservation, waste diversion, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Unique to this year, the report includes a prologue which acknowledges that it is being issued when the State and our nation are in the midst of the COVID-19 virus public health emergency that, like Earth Day, has resulted in greater public awareness of the natural world. Throughout the report, environmental conditions that are caused or exacerbated by climate change are identified by a warming earth symbol. As noted in its section, “The Climate Challenge,” Connecticut’s climate is getting warmer and wetter, and these changes impact many of the environmental indicators in the report.

It is best read as an on-line document at https://portal.ct.gov/CEQ_AnnualReport. There, the values on its charts will appear under the reader’s cursor and the reader can access the many supplemental documents which are hyperlinked within it. Quick summary boxes at the top of the pages allow review and its charts and links provide detail for the serious reader.

About the Council

Established in 1971, the Council on Environmental Quality submits Connecticut’s annual report on the status of the environment to the Governor pursuant to section 22a-12 of the Connecticut General Statutes. Additional responsibilities of the Council include review of construction projects of other state agencies, publication of the twice-monthly Environmental Monitor, and investigation of citizens’ complaints and allegations of violations of environmental laws.